Flood in death valley.

[spackard]

You enter Death Valley by car mostly from the South, the only one of 4 sides where elevation is low. The weather pattern makes it so the wind almost never enters from the South. As moisture-laden clouds climb mountains they lose the moisture, it condenses into rain, and then most of the year you only see either clear skies or hopelessly dry clouds passing overhead when you're in the valley. Occasionally in August moist clouds come up (from the South) from Baja California and the deserts get afternoon rain. That hotel is at about 200' above sea level. To the east is a 5000' peak.

So, if you can get moist clouds in there and push them up over the mountains, weather happens.

 

[atikovi]

You need to get out more! This is the view looking east from my house.

This is what comes to mine when I hear desert, camels not included.

 

[Jdeere562]

Glad I live in Iowa. 1 1/2" of rain and we would just call it another day.

 

[PimTac]

This is what comes to mine when I hear desert, camels not included.

That’s movie stuff. Lots of desert area out west including high mountain desert. For example, southeastern Oregon is a huge area of desert. People disappear and die there all the time. Nevada, Arizona, and lots of other places are like that.

 

[Chris142]

Glad I live in Iowa. 1 1/2" of rain and we would just call it another day.

We got that much in a day about 40 years ago and it completely washed the roads out. I remember standing on the side on a crevice and looking at the top of the men working in the hole.

 

[Jdeere562]

We got that much in a day about 40 years ago and it completely washed the roads out. I remember standing on the side on a crevice and looking at the top of the men working in the hole.

I can't imagine your climate. We can get 3-4" of rain in a day and barely flinch. Tornadoes though, are a completely different story.

 

[eljefino]

Just passed through Death Valley a week ago on vacation. Got a thunderstorm! Notes:

-- The roads are not crowned at all. Water just sits around. Above 45-50 is unsafe due to hydroplaning.

-- The wet dirt smells. Gah! Like ammonia. Something primordial, like dinosaurs are around the next corner. Maybe all the lizard pee coming back to life?

 

[bbhero]

That’s movie stuff. Lots of desert area out west including high mountain desert. For example, southeastern Oregon is a huge area of desert. People disappear and die there all the time. Nevada, Arizona, and lots of other places are like that.

True indeed... There is one major road in southeast Oregon that goes for well over 100 miles with nothing... Nothing for that entire distance... No towns at all.

People from the Eastern US have a hard time understanding just how vast and vacant areas are in the western US.

GPS deaths have and do happen... And running out of gas can actually be a problem out there. Potentially life threatening. 100-120 degree heat and no ac and no water and no food can spell big trouble out there. In a hurry.

Stay on the main roads. Do not go on unimproved roads unless... You have a vehicle capable of actually handling that type of rough road. A broken axle is a huge, huge deal out there. Keep your extra spare tire in operating order and properly inflated and even consider having a real full size spare and a small one too. Know and understand distances... Keep gas tank fill as possible at all times and stop and fill up routinely. Could be farther than you think before the next station. A small town does not always mean a gas station is even there or open. Have plenty of extra water and food on hand in vehicle.

It's just a lot different out west vs the east.

 

[Chris142]

Just passed through Death Valley a week ago on vacation. Got a thunderstorm! Notes:

-- The roads are not crowned at all. Water just sits around. Above 45-50 is unsafe due to hydroplaning.

-- The wet dirt smells. Gah! Like ammonia. Something primordial, like dinosaurs are around the next corner. Maybe all the lizard pee coming back to life?

That's the smell of greasewood plants when wet

 

[UG_Passat]

View attachment 111390

You enter Death Valley by car mostly from the South, the only one of 4 sides where elevation is low. The weather pattern makes it so the wind almost never enters from the South. As moisture-laden clouds climb mountains they lose the moisture, it condenses into rain, and then most of the year you only see either clear skies or hopelessly dry clouds passing overhead when you're in the valley. Occasionally in August moist clouds come up (from the South) from Baja California and the deserts get afternoon rain. That hotel is at about 200' above sea level. To the east is a 5000' peak.

So, if you can get moist clouds in there and push them up over the mountains, weather happens.

When I went to Death Valley last year, I came from the West, coming from highway 395 onto highway 190, over by Stovepipe Wells, and yes, this was by car.

The other ways are on the East side, by Death Valley Junction, Shoshone & the northern most one requires you to cross into Nevada. There's really no southern entrance to Death valley along the southern border of Death Valley that you can go through by car on an actual road

It's either come in from the East entrances or the Western Entrance.

Maybe you're thinking Joshua Tree, because it has a southern entrance, from Interstate 10

 

[Nick1994]

This is what comes to mine when I hear desert, camels not included.

Very very little of that.

The desert isn't so sandy, but hard packed dirt and rocks. Here's where I take my Jeep out. And I guess the Camry sometimes too lol

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

I thought the desert meant sand?

Desert in the SW US are rocky, scrub brush. Nothing like what you'd see in Africa or ME.

Too to bottom. Death Valley, Utah, Nevada

 

[Ignatius]

This is what comes to mine when I hear desert, camels not included.

This is what comes to mind when I hear Death Valley, Paul Bearer not included.

 

[spackard]

Entering from the South.

 

[henni]

Couldn't see your story. LA Times wants $$$ to view.

Not a problem in Vivaldi, Brave, Firefox with uBlock Origin and Privacy Badger

 

[Pablo]

1.46" measured somewhere doesn't mean some slope didn't get 3" or something.

Amazing never the less - Pablo was the clown who asked where all those evaporated "losses" from populated areas end up (in the water usage thread). Yeah. 1.5", flooding almost seems funny..........last fall after about ~20" in a week+ or so, another 1.5" caused all kinds of havoc here. Just hitting that tipping point hills and valleys.